Robber terrorizes family, remains on the loose (video/updated)

By Lauren Baheri

Published: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 06:48 AM.

He forced Shad Black and Foster into the living room, where Black’s father was asleep on the couch. The man became agitated, saying, Foster had lied to him about how many people were in the house, she said. He became violent, throwing Shad Black to the ground and repeatedly kicking him. “He just started stomping my face and asking for money,” Shad Black said.

The robber ended up getting a little more than $300 and taking their flat screen TV, Foster said. Even Koby Black helped out, giving the $50 he had saved up for his mother’s Christmas present. As the man left on foot, he threatened them. “He was like, ‘Don’t call the police or I’ll come back and kill all of ya’ll’,” Foster said. “He said, ‘I know where you work at, I know you work at Subway.”

That threat has stayed with Foster, she said. “I was freaked out,” she said. “You could see the meanness in this guys’ face.” Shad Black suffered bruising on his face from the beating, but was treated and released from the hospital by Monday.

Police are looking for the man responsible for robbing a Bessemer City family and beating a 26-year-old man while his 8-year-old son watched. The family says the robber made off with what little money they had, including their son’s savings for his mother’s Christmas present. The robbery comes just two days later and less than a mile from another robbery in Bessemer City. Police are now offering a $1,000 reward for information on the suspect.

‘He just started stomping my face’ Shad Black, his fiancée, Andrea Foster and their son, Koby Black, had just come home to eat dinner. They hadn’t locked the back door to their house at 510 E. Maine Ave.

That’s how the man entered the home. But he didn’t make himself known immediately.

Koby was the first to see the man, standing in his home with a gun. “He looked up and seen him,” Andrea Foster said. “He just screamed and ran and jumped on the bed.” Shad Black went to check on his son and came face to face with a gun. “I met his eyes and he just pointed the gun,” he said.

He forced Shad Black and Foster into the living room, where Black’s father was asleep on the couch. The man became agitated, saying, Foster had lied to him about how many people were in the house, she said. He became violent, throwing Shad Black to the ground and repeatedly kicking him. “He just started stomping my face and asking for money,” Shad Black said.

The robber ended up getting a little more than $300 and taking their flat screen TV, Foster said. Even Koby Black helped out, giving the $50 he had saved up for his mother’s Christmas present. As the man left on foot, he threatened them. “He was like, ‘Don’t call the police or I’ll come back and kill all of ya’ll’,” Foster said. “He said, ‘I know where you work at, I know you work at Subway.”

That threat has stayed with Foster, she said. “I was freaked out,” she said. “You could see the meanness in this guys’ face.” Shad Black suffered bruising on his face from the beating, but was treated and released from the hospital by Monday.

First robbery just blocks away: Police responded to a house at 311 E. Washington Ave. around 4:45 a.m. Friday. Again a man, Gary Helton, was beaten and robbed. According to police, Helton was warming his car to go to work when he was attacked. The man, fitting a similar description from the robbery on Sunday night, wanted to be let inside the home. But Helton would not let him, Bessemer City Police Chief Tom Ellis said. The suspect made off with his wallet and fled on foot.

Reward for information: Police are now offering a $1,000 reward for information on the man. Police describe the suspect as a black male, standing from 5 feet 9 to 6 foot tall. He was wearing a brown toboggan and a gray sweat suit. Police believe he was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun.

If you have information, contact Bessemer City Police Department at 704-629-2235 or call anonymously to Gaston County Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000. The reward will be given to the tipper with information that leads to an arrest and successful prosecution of the person responsible for the robberies and assaults.

You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.